In History : Welcome to Yogya

The Yogyakarta Sultanate, formally the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, was formed in 1755 when the existing Sultanate of Mataram was divided by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in two under the Treaty of Giyanti. This treaty states that the Sultanate of Mataram was to be divided into the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat with Yogyakarta as the capital and Mangkubumi who became Sultan Hamengkubuwono I as its Sultan and the Sultanate of Surakarta Hadiningrat with Surakarta as the capital and Pakubuwono III who was the ruler of the Sultanate of Mataram as its Sultan. The Sultan Hamengkubuwono I spent the next 37 years building the new capital, with the Kraton as the centerpiece and the court at Surakarta as the blueprint model. By the time he died in 1792, his territory exceeded Surakarta's.

The ruler Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX (April 12, 1912 - 1988) held a degree from the Dutch Leiden University, and held for a time the largely ceremonial position of Vice-President of Indonesia, in recognition of his status, as well as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defense.

In support of Indonesia declaring independence from the Dutch and Japanese occupation, in September 5, 1945, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogya and Sri Paku Alam VIII in Yogya declared their sultanates to be part of the Republic of Indonesia. The declaration is as follows:

"We, Hamengkubuwono IX, Sultan of the Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, declared:

• That Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat function as a monarchy as a Special Territory of the Republic of Indonesia
• That we as the Regional Head of Yogyakarta held control and power in the Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, and upon that cause in which the situation nowadays all government elements in the Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat from this moment is all under our control and with it too all other authorities we take over entirely.
• That the connection between the Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and the Central Government of the Republic of Indonesia is direct and we will only bear responsibility upon our Land directly to the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

We ordered that all residents of the Land of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat to heed our mandate. Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, 28 Puasa, Ehe, 1876" (Javanese Calendar), Gregorian Date: 5 Sept 1945 In return for this support, the declaration of Special Authority over Yogyakarta was then granted fully in 1950.

By this act, Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was appointed as governor for life. During the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch after World War II (1945-1950), the capital of the newly declared Indonesian republic was temporarily moved to Yogyakarta when the Dutch reoccupied Jakarta from January 1946 until August 1950.

The current ruler of Yogyakarta is his son, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who holds a law degree from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Upon the elder sultan's death, the position of governor, according to the agreement with Indonesia, was to pass to his heir. However, the central government at that time insisted on an election. In 1998, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X was elected as governor by the provincial house of representatives (DPRD) of Yogyakarta, defying the will of the central government. "I may be a sultan," he has been quoted in Asia Week as saying, "but is it not possible for me to also be a democrat?"